vice president joe biden and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. working behind the scenes as they have successfully done in the past. the senate went home last night and they are going to get in this morning at the bright hour of 11:00 a.m. eastern. i don't understand how that works. we are not seeing any evidence of progress in either chamber, but as i said, mcconnell and biden are talking. that's important. these two guys have a long history together, and have an ability to cut a deal. one major stumbling block has been overcome. republicans have dropped their demand to reduce social security, cost of living increases. you will know that as the chain cpi. >> and the public has taken their demand for social security benefits off the table. the truth is they never should have been on the table to begin with. significant distance between the two sides, but negotiations continue. >> the consequences of this are too hot for the american people to be engaged, in a political messaging campaign. i'm interested in getting a result here. >> we followed th